South girls earn shot at fourth straight 6A title (+video)

South coach Antwain Scales is not a man who doles out compliments, or encouragement, easily.

He prefers his players stay focused on the day-to-day grind, and recognize that his demands and expectations will always be sky-high. Call it tough love.

So when Scales walked up to South freshman guard Aerihna Afoa after All-State senior guard Ericka Mattingly fouled out with 2:57 left in Friday’s Class 6A semifinal against Olathe East, and with the Titans clinging to a slim lead, the words that came out of his mouth carried the weight of the world.

“He said, ‘I believe in you and I trust you, now go get the job done,’ ” Afoa said. “So I wanted to go get the win for a senior.”

Afoa delivered, scoring nine points and guiding the ship down the stretch in place of Mattingly as the Titans won 43-36 to advance to Saturday’s championship game against Shawnee Mission Northwest. South (24-0) is trying to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive 6A title, and its first with an unbeaten record.

“I’m extremely proud, and fortunate,” Scales said. “For these young ladies that have been here for four years, and for the rest of the team working hard and staying diligent in practice.... I wouldn’t want to have it any other way than playing for our fourth straight state championship.”

Olathe East (18-6) made sure South got all it could handle after a regular season in which the Titans beat teams, on average, by more than 30 points.

South saw a 27-17 lead with 3:38 left in the third quarter dwindle to 31-29 with 2:30 left in the fourth quarter after two free throws by Olathe East’s Sydney Wilson.

“Our team has trained to overcome any adversity, so we knew we could pull through,” said South center Kendrian Elliot, who scored 10 points. “We were a little startled, but it comes back to coach having us do the same things, day in and day out. That’s why we have our freshman guard come in for Ericka and we’re still alright.”

South answered with five straight points, then Afoa, Trezure Jobe and Kyla Callins hit six straight free throws to seal the win. Callins scored 10 points.

“Their defense is super tough. They make every pass difficult with the way they crowd the perimeter kids,” Olathe East coach Clint Evans said. “We’ve really done a good job of not turning it over recently, and we turned it over nine times in the first (half), so I think that says a lot about how tough they were (guarding) us.”

And now, one final game for Mattingly and Elliott, the cornerstones of the last three title teams.

“We always just worry about what we can control,” Scales said. “We know we’re facing a great team. Our young ladies will rise up to the occasion.”

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 10:48 PM with the headline "South girls earn shot at fourth straight 6A title (+video)."